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Friday, November 30, 2012

Both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo, after
surprising sub-par seasons, showed their veteran experience and quality in the
MLS Cup playoffs, and are set to play for the league championship for a second
consecutive year Saturday. Here are some of the top reasons for Northwesterners
to catch the game at 1:30 pm PT on ESPN (or Telefutura, TSN, RDS) even though the Sounders and Timbers are not playing...

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Denver University will not be following the University of Idaho to the Big Sky when the Vandals make the move in 2014-15. In their one and only season in the WAC Denver won the conference title this season at 6-0-2 (17-3-4 overall) and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time before bowing out to defending champion Stanford.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thanksgiving has come on gone and only a handful of players
from around the region are thankful for still being alive for a national
championship as both Concordia sides face a four-game week for the
NAIA championships in Alabama.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Both defenses were difficult to beat for Spokane and Peninsula in title game | Photos: Gerald Barnhart (gallery)

Sunday just was not a good day for the NWAACC East Division. Both of the East-West All-Star teams fell to the North-South in the first half of the day’s action at the Starfire Sports Complex, and then the CC Spokane women were edged via penalties, 3-2, after a 1-1 draw for the championship by the Peninsula Pirates, who also saw the men win, 1-0, against Walla Walla on an 87th minute tally.

The double was the league’s first since 1999 when Columbia Basin won both titles in a showdown with current East Division rival Spokane in both the men’s and women’s finals.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

It was about as one-sided as a semifinal match could be Saturday morning at the Starfire Sports Complex as the East champion CC Spokane Bigfoot squared off against Clackamas in the first semifinal of the day, but it came down to a 90th minute Lateashea Currie strike created by a Tasha Luu block in the offensive third as the Sasquatch advanced, 1-0. The Bigfoot will face Peninsula, 3-1 winners against Everett, in the championship in Tukwila, Wash. Sunday at 3:00 pm PT.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

It was a cold afternoon with temperatures just above freezing after the season's first snowfall a few days before

NWAACC Semifinals set for men & women; All-Stars & honors announced

The record-setting CC Spokane women affirmed their status as a top seed Saturday by clinching a ticket to the league’s Final Four with a fairly easy 3-1 victory over Whatcom CC, the second seed from the North. They join the trio of Peninsula, Everett and Clackamas, who are all returning from last year’s quartet.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Three schools from the Inland Northwest (Idaho State, Washington State and Whitworth) and players from the region representing eight other teams (Arizona State, Santa Clara, Western Washington, Seattle Pacific, Puget Sound, Concordia M&W and Rocky Mountain) advanced to their respective national tournaments. The NCAA schools have already kicked off their title chases - highlighted by Western Washington getting wins in the first two rounds of DII action - while the NAIA gets underway this weekend.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Final words on a chilly night beneath the temporary lights at Whitworth | Photos: Gerald Barnhart

When it comes to the Pirates of Whitworth, the story is more of a case of defending the ship instead of plundering the opposition or living carefree like Captain Jack Sparrow. These buccaneers, who mark their return to the NCAA Division III tournament at 3:00 pm PT Saturday in San Antonio (Trinity University) against Mississippi College, have posted one of the nation’s best defensive performances this year via a crew of six that have stifled one opponent after another.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

On Saturday, the NWAACC’s second-best team on paper begins its playoff campaign in the league quarterfinals when the CC Spokane Bigfoot play host to Whatcom CC, the second-place side from the North Division, at Spokane Falls Community College. The winner advances to the NWAACC Final Four the following weekend in Tukwila, WA at 1:30 pm.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Not surprisingly, the top two seeds in the Cascade Collegiate Conference's tournament, Northwest and Concordia, were victorious in the semifinals. On the men's side, the College of Idaho closed the season on a positive note with a pair of
shutouts against Oregon Tech while others were playing for the
postseason. Chief among the other results was Warner Pacific spoiling
Concordia’s bid for an unbeaten season.

In the Frontier Conference, Rocky Mountain captured the league championship with a pair of victories
over their state foes on the weekend, blanking Great Falls and narrowly
slipping by Carroll in the season finale. The title sends them to
Tennessee, where they will square off with Martin Methodist College of
Tennessee (14-3) Saturday for the Frontier / TransSouth Unaffiliated
Group championship. The men made it a sweep with a victory over the
Argos, sending them to Salt Lake City to face the same MMCT Saturday.

A rough Halloween week proved to be more trick than treat for the Whitworth women as they saw their title hopes dashed with three losses. After clinching the title last week, the men played their reserves in the final match as they awaited news of their NCAA DIII Tournament draw. Meanwhile, in the Division II GNAC, MSU-Billings bid for aberth via an upset against Western Washington was dashed in the league final.

The Gonzaga women wrapped up their campaign with a thumping of nearby rival Eastern Washington in a non-conference match-up while Washington State continued its run of dominance over state rival Washington, hoping that an NCAA tournament berth is in the future with a 12-6-1 overall record.

While their state's other Division I compatriots, Idaho and Boise State, were knocked out of their conference tournaments in the WAC and MWC, Idaho State stayed true to it's top seed - despite a three-way tie for the title - in the Big Sky and came away with a league-high fifth championship to clinch a berth in the NCAA tournament, advancing via an outstanding goalkeeping performance by freshman Sheridan Hapsic in two penalty kick shootouts at home.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Shot from Richter (left) led to MSU-Billings winner from Mancilla (right) in GNAC semifinal

Montana State University-Billings upset second-seeded Seattle Pacific in the semifinals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Thursday evening while Idaho State and Montana advanced from their respective semifinals Friday afternoon.

Friday, November 2, 2012

The spotlight of MISL opening weekend was stolen away a bit by the NASL's announcement Friday that the Board of Governors ratified a deal that allowed the league-owned Minnesota Stars to be acquired by a new local ownership group.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

With the end of the season in sight, teams were looking for needed results for postseason positioning or to for positive finishes for seniors and the future of the program. For games through Sunday, October 28.